No Stranger Would It Be
by Missy Tea
Summary: What happened after they said goodbye. Will she be a stranger? MJ2 spoilers.


I wrote this just after watching MJ 2 on Mondayn while in the middle of a fangirl high. I'm sorry for any mistakes, I have tried to find them all. Please remember to press the lovely little review button at the bottom of the page if you liked it!

I clearly own nothing.

(())

"I couldn't let you go without a proper goodbye." She says, stepping forward on the icy ground and enveloping Katniss in a hug. He stands back, watches her say goodbye to the broken girl she loved like a daughter. In a way Effie was more like a mother to her than her real mother ever was.

The war had changed her. She still dressed ridiculously, in tight skirts and random frills but the white paint that once covered her face has gone. She's become more...human. More loving. More beautiful. He supposed the war has changed him as well. He doesn't feel alone in his pain anymore. He feels lighter, happier. At peace. He doesn't need the alcohol like he once did, although coffee is still a must. She had that impact on him. The one thing that had a grip on her the same way alcohol had a grip on him. But it doesn't any more. Now something else has a grip on him and he can't explain how or why.

"Haymitch" she says gently stepping past Katniss to give him a hug as well. Her hand falls lightly on his shoulder and she leans in.

"Don't be a stranger Effie." He says gruffly, leaning in and pecking her on the cheek, but its not enough, not nearly enough, so he places a gentle kiss on her lips. His heart soars when he feels her return it. He would like to go further, kiss her harder and never let her go. But she has work to do, he has work to do and Katniss is standing next to them. This moment should be between them, no one else. So he breaks the kiss and walks off before he can change his mind. Katniss follows him in mute silence. He leaves it like that.

(())(())

Effie stands on the mansion steps, her toes freezing in the snow, her lips tingling from a kiss she never thought would happen and watches them go. Her two Victors. They'd both been through so much, almost too much for them to bare, but now it was over. All over. She hoped that they would both find the life they deserved. She felt the tears whell up and cling to her eyelashes. She didn't know why she was crying, if it was because of the broken girl who had to find a way to put the shattered pieces back together or because she was now completely alone. She suspected it was a little of both. It was odd, how much she had disliked both of them when they had met. They were uncouth, unfriendly and downright rude people. But now each other them were walking off with a large piece of her heart. His piece being larger than she cared to admit. She would also be picking up the pieces, mending her shattered life. She was no longer Effie Trinkett, the capital butterfly, the district 12 escort. She didn't have a home anymore. Effie took a deep breath and impatiently brushed the tears away, before turning her back on the two dots in the distance and heading inside. She didn't have a home anymore, but she knew where she might find one.

((())(()))

Power hadn't been restored to the Victor's houses in district 12 yet, so once the sun had set they sat in darkness. Peeta and Katniss asked him to join them for supper at night and he did. They allowed him to crash on their couch afterwards, knowing that he didn't want to be alone. The war may be over but the dark still scared him, and the desire to drown his sorrows in alcohol came back. So he went and ate the soup Katniss and Peeta threw together. They spoke about trivial things, kept the candles burning and made sure they were okay when a nightmare woke one of them. But a part of him was still missing, the part of him that had been missing since his games. He wasn't a part of Peeta and Katniss. He wasn't their family. He thought he had found that part of him when he had kissed her, but the weeks dragged on and on and there was still no word from her. Granted, it could have because his phone hadn't been fixed, but he had hoped she would find the time to visit. Even just for a day. He never thought he'd say it but he missed Effie Trinkett. He needed the pop of colour she brought to his life. He needed her. The summer rains came, finally turning the ash grey of District 12 into a hopeful green. But it wasn't the colour he wanted. He wanted the alarming shade of pink.

(())(())

There is a large oak tree that stands just inside the walls of the Victors Village. It was centuries old, having been planted there before they cleared part of the forest to make room for the village. No one knew why it had been left there, casting a shadow over the houses, but there it stood. It was said that it was the original hanging tree from the haunting song Katniss sings, that its branches had seen the death of many evil men and woman. She didn't know it if was true or not but Effie had always loved it. To her it was symbol of strength, to be able to survive age, and frost and humans. She had looked to it every year when she called out the Tributes names as a reminder that she could survive the pain of it all. So it seemed only fitting that when she arrived at District 12 months after he left that he would be standing under it, seemingly waiting for her. She paused on the platform of the train station and watched from afar as he stood staring up into its leaves. She had caught the last train out of the Capital, partly because she still had so much to wrap up and partly because she was scared of the welcome she might receive. It was dark, and there were only a few stars visible. It had rained recently causing the smell of wet earth to fill her nose. She had hated that smell when she first came here, it was too natural for her capital senses but she had grown to love it, now more than ever. It reminded her of hope. And of him. She leaves her bags on the platform, there would be time for that later, and walks towards him. He's leaning against the large trunk, arms crossed and is seemingly lost in thought. He looks so lonely. Guilt spiked through her, she feels horrible for not coming sooner. Due to the mayhem she didn't have time to get on a train, his phone didn't work and the postal service had packed up years ago. But she was here now, after putting her foot down to Plutarch, who didn't seem to want to let her go, and she was ready to start a new life. With him.

"Hello Stranger." She says as she steps under the trees shelter. Haymitch turns to face her, his face disbelieving, almost as though he was still lost in a dream.

"Effie?" He says hoarsely. Effie smiles and his face cracks into the broadest grin. "Come mere"

Then she steps into his arms and they share the kiss they've both been dreaming of. The one where there are no limits. The one that shows love like no other.


End file.
